Remember back when Barack Obama was first elected to the White House and the Republicans lost so much of their collective damn mind at the idea of a brother in the Oval Office that they created the whole Tea Party movement? Black folks knew what time it was — Tea Party was the conservative right’s way of trying to take back whatever control they could...but was at least effective for a few years.
Well, folks are saying that the Democrats of today need something similar. Because, my god — a backbone, spine, or brain would all be lovely to see from the Dems...they need something because they’re getting mollywhopped out here by President Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans.
Last Week, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer dropped the proverbial ball when he sided with Republicans and convinced nine other Democratic senators to vote for a spending bill that President Trump wanted passed. This infuriated colleagues from his party, and set Democratic voters on fire.
During the Tea Party movement, white people were so angry that a Black family lived in the White House that they started voting for people like Mike Huckabee, Sarah Palin and Ted Cruz. They pushed the party to the right which had a significant impact on the GOP because it set the stage for Donald Trump to rise to power.
Now, a Democratic Tea Party wouldn’t be like a Republican one...namely, they would not be overtly racist. I’m sure they wouldn’t even call themselves a Tea Party. (I hope not because, let’s face it, the name “Tea Party” is wack.) But I’m concerned.
Trump is in office acting like he is Nino Brown from “New Jack City.” And Democratic voters are seeing their lawmakers feign helplessness and work with the enemy. But do we want to play from the same playbook as the Republicans?
The Tea Party was very conservative. Like, radical conservative. What people are asking for is that kind of energy now, and Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are happy to oblige. But a question: will that kind of political movement have a lasting impact?
We must face reality. America is, well, America. Meaning that the country has more of a conservative lean to it than a progressive one. Centrist Democrats get elected to the presidency, not radical ones. Radicals can get elected in Vermont or New York City, but they will not appeal to Becky and Tom in middle America. Hell, even Bobby Seal ran for office in progressive ass California and did not get elected.
So, what are we talking about here? If Democrats have a movement like the Republicans did during the Obama Administration and that pushes us left, that would make it easier for the GOP to keep most of their seats in Congress and retain the White House. Hard pass. Now, if we are saying there needs to be an infusion of energy that emboldens our lawmakers to stand up to Trump and Elon Musk, then I’m on board. But we must be careful here.
Invoking the Tea Party name is like saying “Candyman” five times in the mirror. It’s all fun and games at first, but then you have to live (or die) with the consequences. Do we need energy? Yes. Do we need boldness from the Dems in Congress? Yes. Do we want a Democratic Tea Party movement? Eh...